Energy-efficient innovations: Planes, trains and automobiles

Over the past eight years, the European Inventor Award (EIA)
has recognised a diverse group of innovators for their contributions to making
travel more energy-efficient, safe and enjoyable. Here is an overview of the
inventors who are changing the way we get around.

Norbert Enning and Ulrich Klages

Lighter on the
road

A major step forward for energy-efficient cars came via a
switch to new lightweight frames that require less fuel to drive, thanks in
large part to a team of Audi engineers led by Norbert
Enning and Ulrich Klages. Their patented aluminium car frame system resulted
in the world's first mass-produced car made from aluminium and opened up prospects for further lightweight car designs. The team's achievements were
recognised with a 2008 EIA in the Industry category.

Mobile fuel cells

A new mix of fuels

For decades, the combustion engine has been the standard
propulsion system for our cars. However, Ben
Wiens and Danny Epp in Canada
and German chemist Manfred
Stefener are among the many innovators who are developing and improving
cleaner alternatives.

Wiens and Epp turned to hydrogen for power and developed one of the first effective automotive fuel cells. Their Ballard fuel cells now power public buses and prototype cars, earning them a 2010 EIA in the Non-European Countries category.

The mobile fuel cells patented by German chemist Manfred Stefener, winner of the 2012 European Inventor Award in the SMEs category, make sustainable power more portable and flexible. Marketed by Stefener's company Smart Fuel Cell, the invention has already sold more than 20 000 units supplying electricity in boats or recreational vehicles.

Thales Systèmes Aéroportés team

Fewer stops and
starts

A car radar system invented by a French
team at Thales Systèmes Aéroportés seemed more a clever novelty than a
necessity when it was first developed, but it led to one of the most successful
adaptive cruise control systems produced. Not only does the technology help
drivers avoid collisions, it also enables them to maintain a more constant
speed and reduce fuel consumption. The radar system earned the team a nod as
finalists for the 2011 EIA.

Alain Porte

It's all so quiet

The word "pollution" usually brings to mind smog and waste,
but noise pollution too can impact on human well-being and harm the environment.
Airbus inventors and 2008 EIA finalists in the Industry category Alain Porte, André Robert and Hervé Batard took aim at the problem of loud, low-flying
jets. Their solution was a special uniform acoustic damping shield for aircraft
engines that reduced a phenomenon known as "acoustic scattering". Aircraft
equipped with their sound insulation technology can now meet some of the
world's strictest noise pollution regulations.

Modern rail maintenance

Repairs on the rail

Austrian engineer Josef
Theurer is well deserving of the title "father of modern rail maintenance".
In a career spanning many decades, he has produced more than 500 inventions and
no fewer than nine milestone innovations that have a significant impact on how
modern rail lines are installed and maintained. His vast field of work not only
ensured that his firm Plasser & Theurer grew into one of the most successful
companies in the rail-repair business but also helped establish energy-saving
train travel as a viable alternative to cars and planes. Theurer was a finalist
for the 2012 EIA in the Lifetime Achievement category.

Marion "Frank" Rudy

Human locomotion

Despite advances in energy-efficient transport, using our own bodies for travel is often the most environmentally friendly means of getting from point A to point B. It’s also another area where past EIA winners and finalists have made contributions.

US
inventor and 2009 EIA finalist in the Non-European Countries category Marion
"Frank" Rudy ignited a footwear revolution with his invention of shock-absorbing
air insoles. Now, top athletes and casual walkers have a bit more cushion underfoot.
Italian entrepreneur Mario
Moretti Polegato tackled the stinky issue of foot perspiration. He
developed a microscopic porous
membrane for shoe soles that kept water out but allowed foot sweat to
escape. His company Geox grew into one
of the largest shoe manufactures in the world, and his invention brought Polegato
a nomination for the 2012 EIA in the Lifetime Achievement category.

The world of
aquatics might never be the same after the invention of British swimmer and
clothing designer Fiona Fairhurst. More than 130 swimming world records were
broken by competitors wearing her Fastskin swimsuit. Modelled after the skin
structure of a shark, the suit is reported to boost a swimmers velocity by up
to 7% and has since been banned in major international competitions due to the speed
advantage it gives swimmers. Fairhurst was a finalist for the 2009 EIA in the Industry
category.